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In Conversation: Developments in maritime communications with Ben Palmer from Inmarsat

The maritime communications space is experiencing massive demand growth for both crew welfare and business applications so what will the future look like?

Marcus Hand, Editor

March 22, 2024

In this latest episode of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast we talk to Ben Palmer, President of maritime business for Inmarsat, about the fast-changing landscape for communications in the industry.

“One of the things I'd say at the outset is that I was struck when I came into the industry was a slightly binary sense that people wanted to talk about LEO or GEO, as if they were somehow mutually exclusive or there wasn't going to be room for both,” Ben says in a conversation Marcus Hand, Editor of Seatrade Maritime News.

“I think the, the reality, and this is sort of playing out over time is demand for capacity is growing massively across the maritime segment as it is actually across the wider economy. We are seeing demand for crew and business applications risen by 70% and 50%, respectively over the last couple of years.”

The discussion between Ben and Marcus covers:

  • Inmarsat’s merger with Viasat and what this means to the company and its customers.

  • The rise of LEO constellations and combining with Inmarsat’s GEO offerings as an orchestrated network

  • Developing a 5G over water service

  • Managed services and software provision

  • The outlook for maritime communications

About the Author

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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